Fermilab scientists might have discovered that the W Boson particle is 0.1% too heavy, could "break" the Standard Model

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Fermilab Says Particle Is Heavy Enough to Break the Standard Model | Quanta Magazine

WWW.QUANTAMAGAZINE.ORG

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A new analysis of W bosons suggests these particles are significantly heavier than predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics.

 

 

Quote

 

Physicists have found that an elementary particle called the W boson appears to be 0.1% too heavy — a tiny discrepancy that could foreshadow a huge shift in fundamental physics.

 

The measurement, reported today in the journal Science, comes from a vintage particle collider at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, that smashed its final protons a decade ago. The roughly 400 members of the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) collaboration have continued to analyze W bosons produced by the collider, called the Tevatron, chasing down myriad sources of error to reach an unparalleled level of precision.

 

If the W’s excess heft relative to the standard theoretical prediction can be independently confirmed, the finding would imply the existence of undiscovered particles or forces and would bring about the first major rewriting of the laws of quantum physics in half a century.

 

“This would be a complete change in how we see the world,” potentially even rivaling the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson in significance, said Sven Heinemeyer, a physicist at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Madrid who is not part of CDF. “The Higgs fit well into the previously known picture. This one would be a completely new area to be entered.”

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

I mean it's a little overweight, but it's not nice to say it will break something.

[legend]

Feels like everyone has just been waiting for the day when we can finally show where the standard model breaks down.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

1 minute ago, legend said:

Feels like everyone has just been waiting for the day when we can finally show where the standard model breaks down.

 

Per the article:

 

Quote

The finding comes at a time when the physics community hungers for flaws in the Standard Model of particle physics, the long-reigning set of equations capturing all known particles and forces. The Standard Model is known to be incomplete, leaving various grand mysteries unsolved, such as the nature of dark matter. The CDF collaboration’s strong track record makes their new result a credible threat to the Standard Model.

 

[TyphoidHater]

Well there goes my weekend 😐

[stepee]

18 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

I mean it's a little overweight, but it's not nice to say it will break something.

 

Whats the particle equivalent for big boned? 

[Uaarkson]

Yes daddy, give me that fat W Boson.

[Anathema-]

10 years later...

 

"Oh it was the measurements that were wrong, again."

[legend]

3 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

Per the article:

 

 

 

[Jason]

Higher W boson mass hints at chinks in Standard Model’s armor

ARSTECHNICA.COM

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It's big news if this holds up to scrutiny, but other physicists advise "immense caution."

 

[Kal-El814]

6 hours ago, stepee said:

Whats the particle equivalent for big boned? 

eleccctron

[Air_Delivery]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

Higher W boson mass hints at chinks in Standard Model’s armor

ARSTECHNICA.COM

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It's big news if this holds up to scrutiny, but other physicists advise "immense caution."

 

As someone who likes this shit +1 to contributing to this thread instead of making jokes. 

[chakoo]

Scientists are so over the "the Standard Model" like gamers are with their PS5s/XSX that they're waiting for news on the PS5 Pro release

 

This is actually pretty exciting to hear, providing it's true, because there has been a few anomalies found recently that could lead to some exciting new physics.